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I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately. I’m sure it’s the weather… we’ve been breaking records left and right for the cold and snow, records that go back as far as they’ve been recording temperatures here in Saskatchewan – and that’s 120 years of recorded cold and snow levels.

It’s not unheard of to have a freak snowfall in April… but we’re not talking about an odd, one-off, Spring snow. We’re talking about a Winter that appears to be never-ending. We still have over a foot of snow covering most of the yard (and three feet in some corners).

I have seeds awaiting planting. And I’m dying to be spending time with my hands in the good dark earth. I need to put on a pair of clam diggers, and get out in the sunshine. This weather is just making me feel like curling up into a ball and never emerging from my bed.

Normally I spend my birthday outside, having a picnic or bbq. Heck, on several occasions I’ve spent it on the beach. Never in my now 36 years have I been kept indoors by snow.

In spite of the weather though, I had the best birthday I’ve had in a very long while. Lily-Ann insisted that she and her Daddy go to great efforts to make the day special – and I am so grateful that she did. I love Damon, but he’s never been one to make a fuss or do anything to make someone feel important on their day… which means I’d gotten rather used to having crummy birthdays. LOL If I’d had one of those along with this crummy weather? I’m not sure I would have gotten out of bed. 😉

My girl really did make me feel so special. She got her Daddy up in the morning and the two of them made me breakfast in bed – something I’ve never had in my adult life. Then we all watched a couple episodes of Friendship is Magic before heading out to build-a-bear… where Lily-Ann and I picked out, and put together, and chose clothing for a Pinkie Pie stuffy. Whom is now sitting beside my bed being super cute. On our way home we all got smoothies, then vegged for a while before Supper.

My parents had bought me a gift card for Persephone Theater, and with it I bought tickets for Damon and I to see Ride the Cyclone – a musical about a group of dead teenagers. It was very well written, and had us laughing all the way through. Some fabulous performances as well. It was a great way to wrap up a wonderful birthday.

So. I’m 36. I wish it actually looked like Spring, but I had a lovely birthday just the same. Yep. That sums it up pretty well. 😉

The girl had a playdate today with her bestie Parker. They played with Zhu Zhu Pets, had monster pancakes for lunch, played with the Light Bright, made things with the Fazoodles, played with My Little Ponies, got dressed up as royals, played Skylanders, and had just started to play Littlest Pet Shop when his Mom came by to pick him up. It was a great afternoon.

Light Bright

Off to slay the dragon!

Being Silly

My Little Pony

Prince Parker

Fazoodles

Oh! And I can’t forget… they made some plans for their future too. You see, they plan to get married, and they have now decided that they should have 100 swimming pools and 100 horses. Important things for any couple to have. 😉

I had a hard time coming up with a guilty pleasure to photograph. I live so wide open, and I don’t guilt myself over life’s little pleasures. If there’s something that makes me happy, even if it’s something that other people may not really understand, I’m totally okay with that. So I went to Damon, and he gave me this ‘you really have to ask’ look, and said “Your ponies!” LOL

So here are a few members of my Applejack collection:

Applejack was my most loved pony when I was a little girl. I thought she was the loveliest of all the My Little Ponies. And while she was portrayed as a bit of a klutz on My Little Pony and Friends (the 80’s tv show), she was always “Princess Applejack” to me – she ruled over all my herd with a sweet and gentle hoof. 😉 So it’s with relish that I continue collecting Applejack, and even though she’s not my favourite of the new G4, Friendship is Magic, ponies she’ll always have a special place in my heart.

Well, we are almost through January, and I’ll admit… the last few photos may pose an additional challenge – seeing as how we leave for Disney World before dawn on Monday. But I’ll get’r done (as Applejack would say).

I thought of a few things I could take pictures of today; “something you adore” is a pretty broad challenge. What I ended up choosing is this:

I know I’ve said it here many times before, and it’s likely to be said many times in the future too, but there really is NOTHING like sharing something you love with someone you love. And for me? That something is My Little Pony and that someone is my daughter. I adore seeing her filled with the same joy and creative enthusiasm that filled me as a child playing with my little plastic horses. Sure, My Little Ponies have changed a lot over the years, but that delight they bring? It hasn’t changed one iota. And the idea that I can give that to kid kid? It’s pretty freakin’ awesome. So yeah… While there were a lot of things I could have picked for today’s photo, this won out.

Well, it happened… my annual bout of holiday illness. I always come down with something at this time of year. The timing may differ from year to year, as do the symptoms, but it has officially hit. So, while I’m in bed today, trying to get through the worst of it so I’m not quite as much of a mess at our family’s Christmas eve party, I thought I’d share a few pictures from our Yuletide celebrations. Okay, so they’re all of us opening presents, but I couldn’t resist sharing! 🙂

Lily-Ann, after two years of begging, finally got her first Monster High doll.

Bliss over the MLP wedding castle.

Tony making off with Ghoulia.

They had a hit with the “babycakes” last year…

…and now that’s all they buy. Gotta love it/them!

Lily-Ann, full of pride over the results of her hard work. Days of cutting, and embroidery went into the scarf she made for her Dad.

Awwww… big hugs for Daddy.

BTW, anyone know how to create a slideshow since WordPress updated? There have been a couple of times now where I’d have preferred to use one.

This time of year I tend to be on crafting overdrive. Far too many projects and not nearly the time needed to comfortably complete them all. I love it anyway though. 🙂

A My Little Pony Artist’s Trading Card for the Trading Post. The theme was “holiday specials”, which is why Frosty is stuck in the corner – clearly I didn’t feel adventurous enough to sketch him myself.

It used to just be me, crafting all by my lonesome… but now that Kid Kid is five, she’s in it right along with me. It’s awesome to see how well she’s doing to, in so many mediums. Embroidery, sewing, painting, drawing – and that’s just today. We still have planting, baking, decorating, packaging, more painting, more embroidery, more drawing, and a buttload of sewing still to go.

Paint covered play clothes. Crafting is a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

I wish I could share all the projects, but some of the folk who are on the receiving end of our efforts may stop by the blog, so we gotta keep it all under wraps. I gotta say though, as artsy fartsy as we are, all this creative work is absolutely exhausting. It is with great relief that we welcome bedtime tonight.

The girl and Sweets (the old man chi) drifting off to sleep as Daddy reads… a bedtime well deserved after a day of working hard.

Today she opened up a bag that contained a tiny little plastic counter top and register along with a couple little plastic pieces of fruit… now her My Little Ponies can go shopping, and Apple Jack is excited to be able to offer them all wonderful baked goods and other home made items.

Before anything else, I just wanted to wish you all a blessed Samhain. Hold close the ones you love, and remember well those who have already passed from this world. As the world enters the dark half of the year, gather close to share stories and memories, and soon we’ll return to the light. Brightest blessings, may your lives be filled with warmth, caring, and many wonderful new memories to share in the future.

Now… I want you to say hello to Fairy Berry. The girl was just thrilled when I finally let her see the ponysona costume I’d created for her. As I helped her into each piece, she’d run to the bathroom to see how it looked: and with pants, sweater, two wigs, and ears, that was several trips to check out her reflection. So she was quite happy to show it off while I snapped a few pictures before she headed to school this afternoon. It’s totally adorable on her, and the wings worked just as I’d hoped: they actually flap as she walks, skips, and hops along. 😀

This was such an overwhelming experience in so many ways. If you have a loved one who’s all about Friendship is Magic you have got to find a way to get to one of these live performances. Lily-Ann was so gleefully happy it was just awesome. And seeing her that ecstatic filled me with a ridiculously alarming amount of joy. LOL Like, almost tearfully so.

Gasping with excitement upon seeing her hero, Rainbow Dash, emerge from the crowd to approach the stage.

You can hear Lily-Ann calling to Rainbow Dash, and then encouraging her:

Scroll down to the comments to see the video that is supposed to be here. WordPress is messing up in a major way lately when it comes to embedding youtube clips. The second clip below is working fine, but this one is just coming up as a duplicate of the second. So I’ll paste it into a comment instead. Sorry about the headache.

Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Apple Jack – the three ponies who came to Saskatoon for the Prairie leg of the live tour.

Only three of the “mane six” made it out to Saskatoon for the shows, but it was still super cool. Okay, I’ll admit, it would have been at least 20% cooler if Pinkie Pie had been here too – after all, it was a little weird having the other ponies do her songs (and changing lyrics from “Pinkie” to “filly”). But we were still super stoked when they did the girl’s and my very favourite song from season one. 😀 And yes, if you watch the video, that voice you hear singing along through most of it is the girl. We know all the words. 😉

All in all? An amazing, unforgettable experience. So worth the hour of sitting on the hard mall floor prior to it starting to ensure we were right at the front. My body was crying, but so was my heart – and my heart was much much louder.

We snuck up to the stage after everyone left for a quick photo-op. 😉BEST PHOTO EVER!!!

My Sharpie is no longer sharp after writing “Lily-Ann” on 12 markers, 24 crayons, 24 pencil crayons, various notebooks, folders, and a scrapbook, as well as on shoes, pencil cases, glue sticks, erasers, a pencil sharpener, a bottle of white glue (with a no clog lid), and a backpack. Gotta love the night before the first day of school. Pre-k was easy all supplies are communal, but as kids enter the regular school system labeling everything quickly becomes the norm.

I remember my Mom scrawling our names on everything… And with so many of us it was no quick task. As our pencils and pencil crayons were wore down into little nubs, and all that remained was a letter or two, I’d still think of Mom writing our names every time I saw mine. It was a reassuring thing, though it didn’t register as such on a conscious level until many years later.

I hope, as Lily-Ann sits in her classroom this coming school year, that seeing her name spelled over and over again brings a sense of belonging and love. That she knows how treasured she is, not just by her Mom (who wrote her name so very many times) but by everyone who knows her. She really is such a special kid, and her joie de vie has left many with grins where previously there were none.

Girl is ready to be a “school kid” whether or not I am ready for the same. 😉

“Look Mommy, PONY tails!”I’m so glad I had my phone out and captured this moment. 🙂 And thanks so much to another My Little Pony Trading Post member for the lovely G1 sparkle pony in her left hand (she arrived in the mail today, and the girl is currently sleeping with her).